The paradox of warm-climate vegetation in Antarctica

The Northern Hemisphere Arctic lands are well known for their warm-climate fossil
plants and animals from the Mesozoic and early Cenozoic of the uniformitarian geological
column.1–4 (Although I believe
the geological column is a general Flood sequence with many exceptions,5 I am using the orthodox scientific classification
here for the sake of argument.) This situation commonly occurs at mid latitudes
also.6

Sometimes logs are standing upright at these paleoflora sites or in nearby coal
mines, even occurring at multiple levels, suggesting in situ growth to
the uniformitarian scientist. Creationists describe such upright logs as polystrate
fossils, and have reported features that are contrary to in situ growth.7 Such warm climate plants and
animals, including dinosaurs (assuming dinosaurs inhabited a warm climate), also
occur in Antarctica.

More Antarctica climate conundrums

A recent article shows that the Antarctica flora during the Permian and Triassic
was from a warm climate and so adding new conundrums to the climate paradox.8 The geologists found upright
logs interpreted to be in situ and one horizontal log 20 m long. Growth
ring widths were 10 times those found in polar locations today. The rings contained
mostly earlywood and only a small amount of latewood, suggesting a temperate climate
with a rapid end to the growing season, considered to be caused by rapid reduction
in light levels at such high latitude.

This result was surprising because the paleoclimate during the two periods is considered
to have been very different.

It has been known for a long time that fossil flora from the late Paleozoic to the
Tertiary is from warmer climes than expected from the current latitude and even
the presumed paleolatitude of Antarctica according to the plate tectonics paradigm.
Such discoveries include no widespread winter freezing in the early Cretaceous,9 large tree rings that suggest
a warm-temperate rain forest in the early Cretaceous to early Tertiary,10,11
supposed in situ, vertical trees with large rings and no frost rings in
a warm polar Permian climate,12
dinosaur fossils in Antarctica3 and dwarf beech trees in the Transantarctic
Mountains near 1,800 m elevation at 85°S latitude from the late Pliocene, indicating
a cool climate but still much warmer than today.13

The new report adds to the paradox in that it compares the trees from the late Permian
with those from the following middle Triassic. What they found was that the rings
show similar structure, implying similar growing conditions, over the supposed tens
of millions of years. These trees were even similar to trees from the early Permian
from Victoria Land, Antarctica. This result was surprising because the paleoclimate
during the two periods is considered to have been very different. For instance,
Antarctica as well as other Southern Hemisphere continents were supposed to be in
the grip of a huge ice age in the early Permian, the last of four major pre-Pleistocene
ice ages.14

Flood deductions

All this information on warm-climate high latitude paleofloras is supportive of
the floating log-mat model during the Flood,15–17 since any landmass
near the South Pole would have had a cold climate. The trees would have been rafted
to Antarctica from lower latitudes, as I deduced for Northern Hemisphere paleofloras.18 The fact that the trees
remained so similar for tens of millions of years suggests that these tens of millions
of years do not exist. Rather, the thickness of the sediment represents the deposition
of trees from the log mat during rapid sedimentation.

Furthermore, such warm-climate trees in the Early Permian reinforce the idea that
there was no late Paleozoic ice age, and that the till-like deposits and
their supposed glacial signatures are the result of gigantic submarine slides during
the Flood.14

The vertical polystrate trees, which are found in many areas worldwide, including
Antarctica, indicate that logs from the log mat sometimes sank vertically, just
like those observed at Mount St Helens.19
Interestingly, Mount St Helens even caused the Antarctica geologists to question
their deduction of in situ trees:

‘While identifying fossil trees in growth position would appear to be a relatively
simple task, the aftermath of the 1982 Mount St Helens eruption (Cascade Range,
USA) demonstrates that it can often be difficult to determine whether or not log
and stump deposits are in situ.’20

warm-climate trees in the Early Permian reinforce the idea that there was no late
Paleozoic ice age

In fact, these researchers think that the Permian and Triassic trees could have
been transported to their current locations, partly because of a lack of bark on
the trees: ‘Almost all of the wood is extensively decorticated, i.e., the
outer tissues (bark) have been lost as a result of transport.’21 Lack of bark is one of the evidences used to support
the log mat model.22

I need to mention that the Late Pliocene trees found in the Sirius Group in the
Transantarctic Mountains13 could be post-Flood because the tree rings
are quite narrow and the beech trees are a dwarf variety. The average temperature
is claimed to be –12°C with a short growing season average of only 5°C.
These temperatures, if correct, are significantly warmer than those exhibited in
the area today, but very likely much too cold for pre-Flood vegetation. Moreover,
the vegetation was found within diamictite, interpreted as glacial till. Such relatively
warm-climate vegetation has generated tremendous controversy among uniformitarian
scientists,23 because
it suggests that much of the Antarctic Ice Sheet melted 2 to 5 million years ago!
A more reasonable idea within the creationist’s Ice Age model is that the
Sirius Group, with its warmer climate vegetation, represents deposits from ice caps
on the Transantarctic Mountains early in the post-Flood Ice Age—before the
East and West Antarctic Ice Sheets developed to a large size. Atmospheric temperature
would have been much warmer early in the Ice Age because of the much warmer adjacent
ocean and the copious release of latent heat to the atmosphere resulting from massive
oceanic evaporation.24,25

Eminent geologist Dr Steven Austin explains from a biblical standpoint how the Grand
Canyon was formed. This book contains a wealth of information about geology and
biology that equips Christians to defend Genesis, the young earth position, the
worldwide Flood, etc. Also includes material on the eruption of Mount St. Helens.
(Highschool–Adult) 282 pages. #10-2-024

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